


12 Rounds

by alley_cat_toulouse



Series: Hole in the Sun [5]
Category: Cyberpunk 2077 (Video Game)
Genre: Boxing, Fluff, Gen, Street Kid V (Cyberpunk 2077), The boys teach her not to get her ass kicked
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:01:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28332798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alley_cat_toulouse/pseuds/alley_cat_toulouse
Summary: It turns out, V can't fight for shit. Jackie decides to fix that, and Viktor lends a hand.Could be stand-alone, meant to be read as part of the greater Hole in the Sun story.
Relationships: Female V & Jackie Welles, Female V & Viktor Vector, V & Jackie Welles, V & Viktor Vector
Series: Hole in the Sun [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2066091
Kudos: 29





	12 Rounds

**Author's Note:**

> TW: Boo-boos, boxing

The first time Jackie ever saw V get her ass good and truly handed to her, it was by some two-bit teenage gangster wannabe, the type that wouldn’t do much more than posture in his direction before slinking off when he turned towards them. V lacked a certain… intimidating quality, he supposed. Honestly, he probably should have known she couldn’t fistfight for shit after seeing how fucked up she’d looked the first time they’d met. Maybe that’s why she was so against killing when she could sneak around--if it came to a fair fight, she’d lose every time.

Anyways, it didn’t matter, he mused, scraping her off the sidewalk and checking her over to see what else besides her pride had been hurt. He wasn’t going to let her keep going this way.

“Yeah, you’re alright,” He soothed, getting her to her feet as she whined. He dusted her off a little and ducked her accusing glare. 

“Why didn’t you help?!” She snapped, pushing his hands away from her. V didn’t want fussed over. She was fine, just sore that she’d been jumped.

“It was one gangoon, V. A seasoned merc like you should have been fine. ‘sides, I was busy with his pals.” He was satisfied that she’d be alright, just a little tender tomorrow. Nothing broken. Maybe her trust that he had her back, but he didn’t think V had that in the first place.

* * *

“You gotta square up your feet like this--keep your hands up--and then keep your weight light and on your--hands up--your toes,” Jackie explained, modeling exactly how he wanted V to stand. He kept having the reach out to push up on her elbows up, keeping her hands in front of her face. From the concrete steps leading to the apartments over his practice, Vik watched the impromptu lesson with thinly veiled amusement.

Once he’d moved his clinic into the basement of Misty’s shop, it didn’t take Jackie long to start hanging around, drifting between his friend and his girlfriend, depending on which of them was currently busy. And after he’d… forcibly adopted? the little merc, V turned up around there more often than not, too. He’d feign annoyance when they interrupted his fights on television, but the older man didn’t mind terribly if his place turned into their hangout--it was easier to keep an eye on these kids.

He was rather fond of Jackie, and was becoming fond of V, as much as she’d let him. She still had that cagey, distrustful air about her, but she’d trusted him enough to let him cut on her when she needed it. She needed it more often than Jackie. Hell, he first met her when Jackie brought her in for some stitches and a busted phonic implant after a job gone wrong. The more he saw of her, the more he realized there was somethin’ not right with her head, but as a back alley ripperdoc, he wasn’t exactly in the position to be her primary physician.

So, instead, he watched them horse around in the alley and smiled to himself. Once upon a time, it had been him training Jackie to fight. He didn’t set foot in the ring anymore, but he still tended to show up when Jackie actually had a fight. Jackie’d been boxing less though, now that merc jobs were becoming more common for him. Still good to see he hadn’t lost his touch. V was getting frustrated with her teacher though, picking herself up after being knocked over again. Time for him to step in.

“Jack! Lemme switch with ya. Maybe an old man is more her speed.”

Jackie just laughed, but he stepped aside. Vik might have been over 40, but Jackie knew that he was still in condition to take _him_ on, much less a hundred-odd pounds of untrained girl. The ripperdoc pushed himself to his feet and took the younger man’s place.

“Jackster showed you how to punch, right? Not with your thumb in your fist, twist into it, keep your elbow down… all that, right?” V nodded, still looking wary. She was probably waiting to have to fend off an attack that would put her ass in the dirt again. Vik patted his chest. “Okay, hit me.”

She looked up at him, azure brows drawing together in confusion. One had a scar through it--his handiwork, he could have done better. But she raised her hands into position, got into her stance, and slugged him. The blow landed in the middle of his pec, and he… felt it. Not the worst he’d ever had thrown at him, but it wasn’t a tap. She’d grown up in Heywood, Jackie’d once said. Even if she wasn’t a good fighter, he’d bet she’d thrown a punch or two.

“Good. Hit me again.”

She did. A little more confident this time, but she was pulling her punches a bit. He didn’t know if she was afraid to hurt him or her hand.

“Keep going. Just keep hitting until you feel confident with it, okay?

* * *

The night air was electric, buzzing with a nervous energy as the crowd gathered around the makeshift ring. These fights weren’t exactly legal, but the underground nature didn’t thin the crowd any. If anything, they drew more people, the regular Watson types and the corpos looking to rub elbows with the seedier side of Night City.

Vik leaned on the corner post, balanced and easy, watching the crowd from behind his glasses. Jackie was beside him, wrapping V’s hands tenderly in her wraps. They’d be in her corner tonight, watching her duke it out against another no-name up-and-comer. It was her first fight, her first real one. 

Honestly, Vik hadn’t been planning on her jumping on the fight circuit after agreeing to train her more formally than watching her and Jackie duke it in the alley. It had been his intention to get her back in one piece between jobs, maybe spend less of her eddies on his stitches. Didn’t hurt none, having her around more often. She’d work over his punching bag ‘til she was tired, then sprawl on his couch and keep him company in between patients, or lend a hand when he needed a third. But she’d asked about it and he’d asked around and gotten her entered in one--something Jackie has not quite forgiven him for yet. Still, he figured she’d get knocked around, realize that fightin’ a stranger was a lot rougher than sparring with her friends, and that would be the end of that. 

Vik reached for V, cupping her head and pulling it into his shoulder so she could hear him over the crowd. She let him pull her in, even though he could feel the nervous energy singing through her body like a harp string.

“You’re a lot smaller than he is, V. Stay light on your feet and mind his reach. Just keep moving, okay?” He patted the back of her head twice before releasing her.

As she bounced away to the center of the ring, Vik could feel Jackie simmering at his side. He didn’t look up at the larger man, but addressed him anyways, “You gonna pretend I didn’t do the same for you when you were even younger?”

Jackie grumbled, but he didn’t respond. The bell rang.

* * *

V wouldn’t stop grinning, even as Jackie blotted blood from her mouth. Over his shoulder, Vik was dotting bio-glue along a cut on her cheekbone. If not for her smile, she’d have looked like she lost the fight. 

“Did you see, Vik?” She asked, eyes bright. She could hardly sit still as they treated her.

“I did. You did good, kid. You did good.”

She wasn’t going to get out of the ring any time soon.


End file.
